Black History, The Piano

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

past will follow you unless you hold them up. This was demonstrated in the conclusion of the play when Bernice faces her denial of the piano and "realizes what she must do" and exercises Sutters ghost by "beginning to play"(106). When Bernice plays the piano she is showing a respect for her family's history and moves past her denial and the ghost's power over the family.
Another basic lesson of the play is that family is important and to sick together in hard times. This family is scattered around the United States. Cousins, and uncles have not seen each other for years. In fact when Boy Willie wants to see Bernice who "its been three years since I seen her"(p.3), her response is that he disturbed her sleep saying,"its five o'clock in the morning an you come in here with all this noise" (p4). The family is not close, with issues of violence, death and the past separating them. In the end of the play, when Boy Willie and Bernice are fully intent on killing each other over the ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

protects her daughter as much as she can and hopes she'll "be a schoolteacher or something"(p70). The violence of the piano's past and the futility of male violence are exemplified in this passage where Bernice says;
"You always talking about your daddy but you never stopped to look at what his foolishness cost your mamma. Seventeen years' worth of cold nights and an empty bed. For what? For a piano? For a piece of wood? To get even with somebody? I look at you and you're all the same. You, Papa Boy Charles, Wining Boy, Doaker, Crawley… you're all alike. All this thieving and killing and thieving and killing. I ain't never seen it come to nothing…It don't never ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: